Colonial AmeriKitten
Colonial AmeriKitten Colonial AmeriKitten '''aka '''RossKitten, BetsyRossKitten 'or '''Old Amerkitten '''is The Ancestor to AmeriCat and most of the Original 13 State Cats of the United States. She is a White Cat with a Blue Belly covered in 13 awkwardly placed stars, with red-blue hair and stripes across her with a hat, musket and sword. Parliament passed the Stamp Act in 1765 to pay for BritishCat military troops stationed in the American colonies after the FrenchCat and IndianCats War. Parliament had previously passed legislation to regulate trade, but the Stamp Act introduced a new principle of a direct internal tax. Americats began to question the extent of the British Parliament's power in America, and the colonial legislatures argued that they had exclusive right to impose taxes within their jurisdictions. Colonists condemned the tax because their rights as EnglishCats protected them from being taxed by a Parliament in which they had no elected representatives. Parliament argued that the colonies were "represented virtually", an idea that was criticized throughout the Empire. Parliament did repeal the act in 1766, but it also affirmed its right to pass laws that were binding on the colonies. From 1767, Parliament began passing legislation to raise revenue for the salaries of civil officials, ensuring their loyalty while inadvertently increasing resentment among the colonists, and opposition soon became widespread. Enforcing the acts proved difficult. The seizure of the sloop ''Liberty in 1768 on suspicions of smuggling triggered a riot. In response, BritishCat troops occupied Boston and kept a close eye on BostonCat, and Parliament threatened to extradite colonists to face trial in England. Tensions rose after the murder of Christopher Seider by a customs official in 1770 and escalated into outrage after BritishCats troops fired on civilians in the Boston Massacre. In 1772, colonists in Rhode Island boarded and burned a customs schooner. Parliament then repealed all taxes except the one on tea, passing the Tea Act in 1773, attempting to force colonists to buy East India Company tea on which the Townshend duties were paid, thus implicitly agreeing to Parliamentary supremacy. The landing of the tea was resisted in all colonies, but the governor of Massachusetts permitted British tea ships to remain in Boston Harbor, so the Sons of LibertyCats destroyed the tea chests in what became known as the "Boston Tea Party" Parliament then passed punitive legislation. It closed Boston Harbor until the tea was paid for and revoked the Massachusetts Charter, taking upon themselves the right to directly appoint the Massachusetts Governor's Council. Additionally, the royal governor was granted powers to undermine local democracy. Further measures allowed the extradition of officials for trial elsewhere in the Empire, if the governor felt that a fair trial could not be secured locally. The act's vague reimbursement policy for travel expenses left few with the ability to testify, and colonists argued that it would allow officials to harass them with impunity. Further laws allowed the governor to billet troops in private property without permission. The colonists referred to the measures as the "Intolerable Acts", and they argued that their constitutional rights and their natural rights were being violated, viewing the acts as a threat to all of America. The acts were widely opposed, driving neutral parties into support of the Patriots and curtailing Loyalist sentiment The colonistcats responded by establishing the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, effectively removing Crown control of the colony outside Boston. Meanwhile, representatives from twelve coloniesthe First Continental Congress to respond to the crisis. The Congress narrowly rejected a proposal to create an American parliament to act in concert with the British Parliament; instead, they passed a compact declaring a trade boycott against BritainCats. The Congress also affirmed that Parliament had no authority over internal American matters, but they were willing to consent to trade regulations for the benefit of the empire, and they authorized committees and conventions to enforce the boycott. The boycott was effective, as imports from Britain dropped by 97% in 1775 compared to 1774. Parliament refused to yield. In 1775, it declared Massachusetts to be in a state of rebellion and enforced a blockade of the colony. It then passed legislation to limit colonial trade to British West IndiesCats and the British Isles. Colonial ships were barred from the Newfoundland cod fisheries, a measure which pleased Canadians but damaged [[New EnglandKitten|New EnglandKitten']s economy. These increasing tensions led to a mutual scramble for ordnance and pushed the colonies toward open war. Thomas Gage was the British Commander-in-Chief and military governor of Massachusetts, and he received orders on April 14, 1775, to disarm the local militiascats On April 18, 1775, 700 BritishCat troops were sent to confiscate militia ordnance stored at Concord. Fighting broke out, forcing the troops to conduct a fighting withdrawal to BostonCat. Overnight, the local militia converged on and laid siege to Boston. On May 25, 4,500 BritishCat reinforcements arrived with generals William Howe, John Burgoyne, and Henry Clinton. The British seized the Charlestown peninsula on June 17 after a costly frontal assault,leading Howe to replace Gage.Many senior officers were dismayed at the attack, which had gained them little, while Gage wrote to London stressing the need for a large army to suppress the revolt. On July 3, George Washington took command of the Continental Army besieging Boston. Howe made no effort to attack, much to Washington's surprise. A plan was rejected to assault the city, and the Americans instead fortified Dorchester Heights in early March 1776 with heavy artillery captured from a raid on Fort Ticonderoga. The British were permitted to withdraw unmolested on March 17, and they sailed to Halifax, Nova Scotia. Washington then moved his army to New York. Starting in August 1775, American Privateers began to raid villages in Nova Scotia, first at Saint John, then Charlottetown and Yarmouth. They continued in 1776 at Canso and then a land assault on Fort Cumberland. TL;DR '''Colonial AmeriKitten wins, The United States is Founded, AmeriCat Succeeds her as the Main American Cat Colonial America (British) British America included the British Empire's colonial territories in America from 1607 to 1783. These colonies were formally known as British America and the British West Indies before the Thirteen Colonies declared their independence in the American Revolutionary War and formed the United States of America Category:North Americats Category:FormerCats